Ekanem, J: Clashing Cultures

Clashing Cultures is an anthropological study of the Annang, an ethnic people of Southern Nigeria. The book provides a succinct historical and ethnographic description of the impacts of various cultural and religious influences upon the Annang people and the transformations that have taken place as a result.

The consideration of Christianity's influence on the Annang is part of the broader historical and anthropological picture. Although it is an academic work, Clashing Cultures is also a living text. It reflects the evolving culture of the Annang regarding issues such as marriage, male/female roles and supernatural beliefs. The book deals with ritual as a practice that produces meaning, by means of images and metaphors in an unfolding drama. It looks at how the Annang extract meaning from themselves, their bodies, their gestures, their actions in social, spatial and historical contexts.

The book creates a time-oriented anthropology in which local processes are mirrored in the context of larger ones.